The IRS says I am able to make a profit sharing 401k payment to an employee as late as April 2021. How do I properly reflect this as a 2020 expense in Quickbooks?

Hello there, @BeyondTheBox.

To post profit-sharing or 401k payment in the year 2020 in QuickBooks Online, you’ll have to change the dates of your online banking transactions once added or matched to QuickBooks.

 To do that, here’s how:

1. In QuickBooks Online, go to the Banking page, and on the Bank and Credit Cards drop-down menu, choose your bank account.
2. Find the transaction to be added or matched. Then, select the In QuickBooks tab.
3. Click the transaction you want to add notes and select the date on the Payment date field.

Once done, transactions will be posted on your 2020 reports.

 I would also suggest getting in touch with your accountant so you’ll be guided on handling this kind of situation. 

Just in case, you can also check out these articles for more information:

• 401(k) Plan Overview.
• Retirement plan deductions/contributions.
• How to record bank deposits.

Please reach out again to us if you have any questions. We'll be here to assist you.

Can I simply create an expense in 2020, and when the actual transaction shows up in the bank account in 2021 match the two. That way the expense is still in 2020 and I can reconcile the 2021 bank statement?

Can I simply create an expense in December 2020, for the amount and then in January when the actual transaction shows up in the bank account match the two. That way the original expensive still in December 20 20 but I can reconcile my bank statement and January 2021??

Yes, you can create an expense transaction to record the 401k payment and match it once the actual transaction shows up, .

Simply follow these steps to record your expense: 

1. Click the + New icon, and select Expense.
2. In the Payee field, choose the vendor and select the account you used to pay for the expense in the Payment account field.
3. In the Payment date field, enter the date for the expense.
4. Choose how you paid for the expense in the Payment method field,
5. Select the expense account you use to track expense transactions in the Category dropdown,  
6. Enter the Amount and tax.
7. When you're done, select Save and close.

Once the transaction becomes available on the Banking page, you can now match it to your expense transaction. 

After you categorize your bank transactions, it will automatically show up in the bank register. The system will also follow the date on when the transaction is created once it's recorded.

Let me know how else I can help you with QuickBooks by adding a comment below. I'm more than happy to lend a helping hand. Keep safe!

Thank you.

The confusion on my part was way happens when a back transaction in January 2021 is matched to an Expense entry in December 2020.

I just needed a confirmation that the matching would leave the register with the original Expense dated in December.

Shockingly, this is not explained anywhere I could find...but I guess is common knowledge.

Thank you.

The confusion on my part was way happens when a back transaction in January 2021 is matched to an Expense entry in December 2020.

I just needed a confirmation that the matching would leave the register with the original Expense dated in December.

Shockingly, this is not explained anywhere I could find...but I guess is common knowledge.

Thanks for getting back to us, BeyondTheBox. I'm here to clarify your concerns.

QuickBooks Online will base on the pay date when the transaction is entered or recorded in the system, regardless of when it reflects the register. Meaning, the matching would leave the register with the original Expense dated December.

I've got you these resources that will help you with reconciling your account:

• Reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.
• Learn the reconcile workflow in QuickBooks.
• Fix issues the first time you reconcile an account in QuickBooks Online.

You can always tag me in a comment below if you have any additional banking concerns or any other QBO related issues. I'll be right here to help.

@GlinetteC While I am sure those other links will likely address the question in some way, I was surprised to find that searching for my specific question/situation yielded ZERO results. I think that this could/should be made clear as a separate post that can be found in a search. Not all users are accountants and it was my understanding that being/using one was not a requirement of Quickbooks.

Thank you for responding quickly with the short and clear answer I was looking to read.